When The Past Comes To Haunt
by Inuyashagirl7692
Summary: This is an alternate continuation from the end of Season 2. A childhood friend from Derek's past comes to Beacon Hills comes to judge whether Derek is capable of leading a pack, but Scott says Derek is dead. Why can't Derek the pack leader and why does Scott's confrontation with the pack leave him think he's Derek?
1. Prologue

_"Scott, there's something I need to tell you." Something about the tone of his friend's voice made Scott pause in the middle of folding his blue flannel shirt. His room was under going a major renovation under the strict orders of his mom. In other words, he was cleaning it. After about half an hour of thinking about cleaning his room, Stiles had dropped by and begged Scott's mom to let him speak to him for five minutes. She was reluctant at first, but he seemed so pale and desperate. She just didn't have the heart to turn him away._

_"What's up, Stiles?" Scott said. He was still slightly preoccupied by thoughts of how exactly he was going to fold his shirt- Top to bottom? Sleeve to sleeve? - before he would inevitably throw it into a drawer where it would get wrinkled, thus rendering all folding useless._

_"You remember the big lacrosse game, right? You remember how I went missing?" A bewildered expression briefly decorated Scott's face, which was chased away by anger. _

_"How could I forget?" The words came out in a low growl._

_"Alison's grandpa kidnapped me, Scott. He threw me in the basement, and beat me. But there was more than that." Unfortunately, Scott had temporarily lost the ability to hear._

_"That old bastard! When I find him, I'll kill him. And then I'll resurrect him. And then I'll kill him again!"_

_"Scott! As much as I'd like to discuss how completely implausible that is, I need to tell you what I saw" He didn't even wait to see if Scott had mellowed out before barreling ahead, "Erica and Boyd were in the basement."_

_"What?!" The shirt dropped to the floor. Forgotten._

_"They were strung from the ceiling. He'd wrapped electric wire around them so they couldn't change and I couldn't free them. I'm so sorry, Scott."_

_"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Scott managed to grit out. The air suddenly seemed too thin and too thick to Stiles. He couldn't get in enough air to satisfy his lungs, and yet he felt smothered. Everything was wrong. Everything was so wrong, and he was drowning in it._

_"I wanted to protect my dad, Scott. I'm not a hero. I don't have superpowers. I can't transform into a super cool wolf, get super strength and protect the people I care about. People like me? We keep our heads low and hope no one we know ends up collateral damage."_

_"No one you know?" Scott slowly repeated, disbelief replacing anger for the moment. The words didn't seem to fit quite right in his mouth. They squirmed and twisted as his tongue tried to shape them. "So, you didn't know Erica? You didn't know Boyd? They're just strangers to you?"_

_"I didn't say-"_

_"You didn't have to. It's been a week, Stiles. A week. And you told NO ONE!" The last two words came out in a roar, and some distant part of Stile's brain wondered if it was near the full moon. Maybe Scott would lose control and attack him. Maybe he'd deserve it. But his dad couldn't lose him._

_"Why should I?" The words flew out, unbidden. "I'm not a part of Derek's pack. I'm not even a werewolf! The only reason I got involved with this monster stuff was because you needed me. And well, you can forget that! I'm tired of babysitting you. Keeping you from exposing your secret. Keeping you from chomping someone's head off. From now on, watch your own back." Stiles told himself this was for the best. He needed to keep his dad safe, and the only way to do that was to stay away from Scott. _

_But as he turned to leave, Scott had one last thing to say, "You mentioned the word "monster" somewhere in your tirade. Leaving two kids to rot a basement? Not telling anyone about them, not even after we poisoned Gerard with Mountain Ash? There's only one monster in this room, Stiles. And I hope your dad is proud of the monster you've become." Almost without thinking, Stiles lunged to punch Scott. One look at Scott's face, however, and something very primal, buried deep inside since before the day he was born, stopped his fist an inch away from Scott's face. Survival instinct. "It's a good thing you stopped." The words came out deceptively calm, like a statement or a fact read from a textbook._

_Stiles ran out the door, and didn't look back._


	2. The Alpha Pack

"Let them go". Helpless, Scott could only watch as Erica and Boyd struggled feebly in their captor's arms. He'd happened upon the group by pure chance, but now that he'd found the most current obstacle to the safety of his pack mates, it was taking everything in his power not to rush headlong into a fight he had no chance of winning. Seven possible enemies stood before him, and they were no ordinary humans. Bereft of shoes and covered in dirt, it was obvious that they were either werewolves or friends of the missing link.

At their head stood a girl in her early 20's. With her flaming red hair decorated with tree leafs, and her height being 5'2'' at best, he imagined forest nymphs to look similar. For the most part, she wore loose black clothing, a vest and shorts. The only other things of note were her blemish free pale skin, the air of authority she exuded, and her crimson eyes. In fact, every one of them had crimson eyes. Instinctively, Scott knew them to be Alpha's, and her to be their leader. Just by standing within 20 feet of her, he had a desire to follow her into the depths of hell should she ask it of him. Or maybe just detention.

After a short pause, she spoke. Her deep liquid voice, like maple syrup, resonated in his head, "Who are you to demand we release them?"

"My name is Scott. I'm a lacrosse player."

"Are you their Alpha?"

"That depends. What happens to them if I turn out to be their Alpha?" He'd desperately tried to color his reply with the menace laced confidence he'd often heard in Derek.

"We will return them to you. Afterwards, we'll ask you if you'd like to abandon them and join our pack. Should you choose not to, we may just deem you too weak to lead a pack, and if that happens, we will kill you."

A rumbling growl rose within his chest to meet these words, but Scott squashed it. What would Derek do in this situation? With him outnumbered, and two members of his pack helpless in the hands of strangers with questionable motives, what the heck would he do? He briefly contemplated telling them Derek was the Alpha, but even he could tell this group would be bad news for him.

"Alright, fine. I'm their Alpha." The skepticism in the air was palpable. The Betas abruptly stopped struggling and stared at him, shocked. Scott made a mental note not to thank them later for their support.

"Your pack doesn't seem to agree."

"They weren't around when I murdered Derek Hale." He tried to say this as though it was a well-known fact, but he didn't dare look at Erica and Boyd know. Despite this, the sound of a pained keening and a disbelieving grunt pierced his eyes like ice picks. They'd thank him as soon as they were free, as long as they didn't try to kill him first.

"Murdered?"

"I didn't have a choice. A hunter was going to kill us all if I didn't. His name was Gerard Argent, by the way. I don't know where he is, but if I did, I'd tell you. Those two Betas" he gestured towards Erica and Boyd, "were too busy being to tortured in a basement to congratulate me on my promotion" Some of that was true. Scott hoped it would be enough to fool the Alphas. "Now that I've explained my ascension, I'm asking nicely, release my pack." The red haired leader chick nodded to the burly guys holding Erica and Boyd. They were released. However, they had obviously been through hell. "Did you do anything to them?"

"The tape was of our doing, but everything else was, according to them, either of the work of Gerard Argent, or a girl named Allison." She answered. The sharp intake of breath which met this new information did not go unnoticed.

Scott made sure to start in on his "pack" just as he knew Derek would have, "When Derek told you two not to go out in these woods alone, it was for your own protection. You should have known that, yet you disobeyed him. I'm not Peter or Derek, but for as long as you are in my pack, I will prioritize your safety over your free will. Am I understood?" He made sure to emphasize that last part.

Erica's still pretty face seemed to cloud with her internal struggle. Scot was not her Alpha. Instinctually, she wanted to balk at his display of authority, but her survival instinct beat out her wolf instinct. She accepted his words with a sense of shame that could be attributed to her earning her Alpha's displeasure, and nodded. Boyd followed suit, but he had to fight a smile from showing on his face. Scot was channeling Derek better than he knew.

For Scott's part, he accepted their displays of obedience with the small, relieved smile he had hoped to keep suppressed. "Alright, that's enough. You two can explain yourselves later. For now, go home and rest. You looked exhausted." They nodded gratefully before bounding off in the direction of Hale mansion. The Alpha pack watched them go.

"You handled your pack's disobedience well, but you are too soft."

"How I raise my pack is no business of yours." If the Alpha pack had been a pack of dogs, their hackles would have rose. "They are young still. Rebellious. And they've just lost Derek. How can I be hard on them for disobeying me if they don't have the slightest clue whether I know the difference between leading and brainwashing yet?"

"You seem very human for an Alpha."

"If Derek were still Alpha… you'd be saying the same thing." Scott was a little surprised when he realized he meant this. When they first met, Derek seemed more like a wolf, who could turn into a man, than a man who could turn into a wolf. Scott hadn't trusted him, hadn't listened to him, but Derek had been there for him anyways. He'd even protected Stiles. Derek, he knew, was someone worth protecting. Sure, Scot didn't really want to die for him, but if things worked out that way… Well, for now, he'd just focus on the not dying part of plan… that was currently in the works.

"It's not a compliment." The red haired leader continued.

"Maybe not to you, but I'm going to take it as one."

"It sounds like you won't be willing to join us."

"My pack may be small and new, but they have potential. They need me. I can't abandon them now."

"...Are there any more of you?"

He hesitated for a breath too long before firmly replying, "No."

"Good than I have one more question for you." A flash of fear from the blond in the Hawaiian shirt was all the warning Scott had before the words, "Kill Scott" were carved into his brain. It was an agony he had never felt before. Over and over he saw the words, and each of them seared through thought until all he had left was one face and one name. With the last of his will, he inserted his own words into the mix. Words that made the pain go away.

_I Am Derek Hale_

* * *

"Looks like he wasn't an Alpha after all" Jake commented, as the boy they had only just met melted into a screaming heap on the ground.

"Looks like" Olivia glanced disdainfully at the mess she's made, before turning her back on it.

They had already begun following the trail left by the two Betas, before they heard a rustling of leaves behind them. "Where do you guys think you're going?

Startled, Olivia turned with her fangs bared, only to see Scott glowering fiercely at her. "Sorry to get your hopes up, Olive, but I'm an Alpha. You can't make me do anything.

_It wasn't often Olivia got to play with Derek, but she liked it when he came over his house. Her parents were always too busy to play with her when the Hale family came over, but Derek made up for that plenty. He had a bright smile and a messy mob of black hair he'd let her play with sometimes. And he came up with the best games! Today, they were playing knight in the porch._

_"On guard!" she cried gleefully, as she thrusted her wooden stick into Derek's rib cage. With an embellished moan of anguish, he toppled from stairs, until he came to rest as a crumpled heap beneath her feet._

_"My Queen Olive!" He called out, "I have failed you. You must mourn your fallen knight." The red headed child giggled._

_"And why should I do so, Sir Knight?" Derek's small hand found its way around her ankle. She looked down to tell him off, but the intensity of his green eyes and the grin, which had spread across his face, stole her breath away. _

_"Well, isn't it obvious?" Still stunned, she silently shook her head. "I'm going to marry you someday! It's only natural that you should mourn if you lose your fiancé."_

"Don't call me that!," She snarled. "Perhaps I was a little too quick to assume you were merely spewing lies. But why the show?"

"I had my reasons, but that's not even important, is it? I passed your test. Surely the next test to determine my strength will not be as disappointing as the first?"

"How dare you mock us! We are the Alpha pack, the judges and executioners of the Council of Elders. And you? You are young, and-" Disgust crept into her voice, "_made._ I will allow your insouciance, but only this once. Do not make the mistake of crossing me again." Her eyes glowed dangerously, as though emphasizing her point.

"Forgive me. As you said, I am young and new. In the future, I'll be sure to speak to you with all the respect you are due."

"That is fine. We will give you one week. By the end of that week, you had best have a pack strong enough to reflect well on your ability to lead. I will personally see to it that the challenge we present you with does not bore you."

"Of course. With your permission, may I go see to my pack?" She gave a curt nod in reply to this question. Without another word, Scott leaped to find the still injured Boyd and Erica. Turning to leave, Olivia saw her fiancé, Jake, looking at her strangely, but she ignored him.

* * *

There were two things the Alpha pack existed for. The first was law enforcement. Werewolves who threatened to reveal the existence of their kind to mundanes were quickly extinguished. Killing humans, while frowned upon, was tolerated to a degree, but killing an Alpha was considered a reprehensible crime. If a Beta kills their Alpha, they better have had a damn good reason, and if an Omega kills an Alpha…

Omegas were treated like social outcasts among the werewolves. If they killed an Alpha, more often than not, they were killed for it. If they were killed by a hunter, they were not to be avenged.

When Olivia's father ran the Alpha pack, Omega's were practically persecuted on sight. Even today, in accordance with the old ways, Alpha's and Betas were discouraged from speaking to or associating with them.

Staring pensively into the fire, Olivia sat a little ways from her pack. They all sat gathered around the fire Jake had made, cooking the marshmallows she had snagged from a Seven Eleven they had come across.

"Your marshmallow's mutating into the blob, Caleb. Take it out before it starts to eat your brains." Carlos said. Dark skin contrasting nicely with the glow of the fire, he appeared even more at home in this forest than the rest of them did. Out of all of them, he was the only werewolf of Spanish decent. Sometimes, Olivia would find herself staring at his dark eyes, sharp edges, and tan skin. His distinct features were proof that a world existed beyond the werewolf commune. A world she may never have a chance to see.

At the moment, he was wearing the cut off jeans they all wore, slightly singed, and a blindingly bright yellow hoodie. It was like wearing a bleeding target on his back for any hunter with half an eye. She'd tried to burn it yesterday, but he'd found her and belly flopped the fire. Saving the hoodie but scorching his jeans in the process.

"What brains?" Niles, the youngest of the pack, leaned over and blew into Caleb's ear. This action drew a strangled yelp out of Caleb, who jumped to his feet, smacking his ear like a dog with an itch. His marshmallow fell from his stick and plopped into the fire. "Oi, Liam, did you feel a breeze when I blew through his head?"

"Shut up. If my marshmallow does not turn a perfect golden brown because you distracted me, I will kill you with my stick.

"Yeah, right. You couldn't kill a fly with a grenade.

"I could."

"Oh yeah? Prove it."

"…How?" This question seemed to stump both boys, as they let the question drop. At least until Dominic finished his marshmallow, and mouth still full with sticky white goodness, said, "What about hunters? I bet they have grenades."

"Yeah. And I bet they also have jet planes on their roofs and tanks parked in their garages," Caleb added, sarcasm dripping.

After a while their bickering turned to static in her ears.

_"Olive, chase me!"_

_"Are you sure? I'll catch you." Olivia's father had been training her to succeed him since she turned five. Everyday, she was expected to increase her speed and agility. Since Derek was not expected to take up the role of Alpha, he hadn't been trained as thoroughly as she had, and she was afraid of embarrassing him. If she turned out to be faster or stronger than him, he might not want to play with her. All the other kids her age couldn't run like she could, and when they realized how fast she could run, they stopped playing with her. Johnny had told her that it was because it wasn't fair. Anyone with the Alpha's daughter on their team would obviously win._

_But instead of faltering at her warning, Derek grinned. "You sure sound confident, Olive. Let's see if you're really good enough to beat me, the Derek the Were Wonder!" After posturing a bit more,_ _the young boy took off at a sprint. It was his fastest pace, and not even Laura, his nine year old sister, could catch him at it._

_Confident in his victory, Derek turned his head to see Olivia bearing down on him like a raging forest fire. Sprinting with her arms pumping and head bowed, Derek wondered if she planned on eating him once she caught him. This wasn't a joke. At the rate she was going to pummel him in-_

_"Got you!" He felt her barrel into him like a wild boar, and hit the ground. Bright eyed and grinning, Olivia looked down to see his reaction to her overwhelming victory, only to suddenly realize that he was wheezing. She scrambled off of him as fast as she could, and apologized profusely._

_"It's alright, Olive. I just got the wind knocked out of me. You're a lot heavier than I thought you'd be."_

_Pink colored her cheeks. "I'm not heavy."_

_"Are you kidding? I thought I was going to die!" The playful tone in his voice let her know he was only teasing, but it still bothered her to hear him say that, so she punched him lightly in the arm. "Ow! What did my arm ever do to you?" Her 'lightly' was a little harder than most._

_After a few more minutes, Derek got up, dusted himself off, and said, "Let's play again! I'll try to catch you this time."_

_"Think you can?"_

_"Think I can? I know I can."_

And then the dream ended.

When was it exactly her father decided she was too old for playing childish games with young boys, and forbade her from seeing Derek? How long had she holed herself up in her room, crying for all the days of sunshine and smiles she'd lost?

It wasn't until Jake's calloused hand was moving in front of her face that she snapped out of her reverie.

"Hey, are you alright?" Sandy blond hair kept falling into his face, but still he stared at her anxiously.

"I'm fine."

"Course you are. It's perfectly fine and okay to stare into a fire for thirty minutes."

"It's called thinking. A new and wonderful invention for," she noticed Niles and Liam wrestling on the ground, while the other three cheered them on, "everyone who is not in my pack, apparently."

"Don't be so hard on them. We've been traveling for days, and this was supposed to be our first Alpha investigation. Everyone went on edge the moment they heard Derek killed Peter Hale. They need some time to relax and goof around."

"Our parents would never-"

He cut her off, "But we're not our parents."

With one last smoldering glower, she returned her gaze to the fire, and he followed her lead. Because even if he questioned her sometimes, he would always follow her lead.

* * *

It'd been a long time since Derek had taken a warm shower, but now it felt like he needed one. One by one, he stripped off every sweaty article of clothing he had, and stepped wearily under the stream of hot water he'd arranged for himself. The skin drawn over his aching muscles, still aching from his daily work out, seemed to sigh with pleasure at the contact. After a few minutes, the bathroom grew foggy. Sucking the humid air gratefully into his lungs, Derek glanced the hair products Peter had forced him to buy, under penalty of nagging. The shampoo was twenty dollars. It was about time the formerly dead werewolf got a job.

Of course, once the word werewolf popped into his brain, his thoughts began to spiral once again through a familiar series of doubts and regrets. Gingerly turning his right hand in the light, he could almost still see Jackson's blood on it. How much more blood would be on his hands now if it weren't for Scott? Even though he was supposed to be the Alpha, even though he was supposed to be the leader; it was always Scott who ended up being the hero in the end. He saved the people Derek had already given up for lost. And when it came time to stand, it was Scott who stood before him. Still paralyzed, there was nothing he could have done but stare up at him and wonder what the heck had happened the boy he'd met a year ago. Where had the lacrosse and girl obsessed pup he'd had to keep an eye on twenty-four seven go?

It was that pup that had stopped him from killing Lydia, and Lydia who had saved Jackson. And it was Stiles who had saved his life when he'd believed there was no one he could trust. Then Erica and Boyd ran. His pack abandoned him. But Scott didn't. No matter how many times Derek wondered who he could trust, the only thing he knew for sure was that these teenagers would eventually be the death of him.

Maybe things wouldn't have been so hard if he'd just let Scott kill Peter, but even if he could go back, and place this heavy burden of leadership, doubt, and fear on someone else, he wouldn't. Whether the hard headed, stubborn, foolhardy, reckless fool realized it or not, Scott was like the annoying little brother he'd never really wanted. And his friend was quickly becoming a semi tolerable presence in his life. Therefore, it was his responsible to do what he felt was best for them.

Now that all was said and done, Derek was left with three lacrosse players, Jackson, Scott, and Isaac, to present to the Alpha's as a pack strong enough to reflect well on his ability to lead. Sure, Jackson had virtually no training, but he had been the kanima for a while. Maybe he'd retained the skills?

"And maybe I'm screwed," Derek muttered. The wall stood resolutely still as he banged his head against it. Considering the state of Hale manor, it was probably the only wall he could bang his head against without it falling apart.

A loud knocking at the front door resonated through the house. The frequency of the knock was too quick, and the pounding too urgent, for it to be the prelude to a social visit. Not that anyone ever visited for social reasons.

On the way downstairs, Peter grabbed the towel Derek had carefully wrapped around his manly parts, for no reason other than to be a dick. At this rate, his nephew really was going to rip his throat out again.

A few seconds later, standing tall and unabashed before Isaac was his pack leader, as pale, naked, and chiseled as a Greek statue.

"Have you decided to quit my pack, too?"

"I- What? No! I, uh. Um."

"Is there a problem, Isaac?" Derek punctuated his words in a way that could have made the simple statement sound like a threat. It wasn't a threat, though. Merely impatience and misplaced annoyance.

"Scott's been looking for Erica and Boyd, but something tells me he needs our help right now. His mom doesn't now where he is, Allison doesn't know where he is, and Stiles' stopped speaking to him, so he had no idea where he is, either. I think we need to find him."

Scott? In trouble? Why did this not sound like anything new?

Besides, Scott had said he wasn't his Alpha. That meant that he wasn't a part of his pack, and therefore, not his damn problem. When he told Isaac as much, the doe-eyed teenager violently replied, "What does that even matter? He's still your brother, isn't he?"

And then it was settled. He'd go and find Scott, not because he was a part of his back, but because he was his little brother, just as the boy in front of him, currently begging for his help, was.


	3. Two Dereks

"Peter! Give me back my towel or I will tear your throat out!"

"Oh golly gee, I bet you say that to all the guys" Peter called down from upstairs in a false falsetto.

"I've already torn it out once. Don't test me."

"You guys are really dysfunctional," Isaac noted.

"Shut up, Isaac."

* * *

Boyd and Erica were quiet as they dragged their weary bodies through the woods, loping at a snail's pace. Deep in the darkest corner of their minds, the fact that they left Scott to the Alphas ate away at them like a cancer. A week ago, Boyd never would have left him. His protective instincts were still too strong then, but it wasn't a week ago. It was now, and it wasn't only his protective instincts that had been weakened.

They barely noticed Scott running behind them until they heard a branch snap like a gun shot no more than five feet behind them. Eyes panicked, unfocused, Erica nearly made to lunge at the newly arrived pack member, but Scott grabbed her wrists and Boyd held her back.

"I know I wasn't expecting a hug, but don't you think attacking me is a little much, Erica?"

"She didn't know it was you, Scott. We've had a rough few weeks."

Standing back so he could get a better look at them, Scott noticed that Erica still had mascara tear tracks on her cheeks. Gently, he made to wipe them off, but she flinched away, and Boyd let her go.

"Scott" Erica started, to Scott's visible surprise. "Did you kill Derek?"

For a moment, Scott's world seemed to teeter on its edge, because her words didn't make any sense to him. Kill Derek? How could he possibly have done that and still be standing in front of her? Wasn't Derek his name?

His voice came out like a croak as he finally realized that his body felt wrong, "What are you talking about? I am Derek." The hands in front of face were too long, too slender to be his, but he was sure he couldn't be Scott.

Shock drained the already pale faces of the Betas. They halted in their tracks, even though Hale manor was less than a mile away, even though their Alpha and the safety he could provide was so near.

Carefully, Erica said, "Scott? What's wrong?"

"You're not Derek," Boyd added.

Scott swept a long hand through his short hair- too short, even his hair felt wrong- and tried to think things through.

Olivia had tried to get him to join her pack, that meant he was an Alpha, but he couldn't remember leaving his house to meet Olivia. If Scott had met up with her and tried to pass himself off as an Alpha, Olivia would have tested him, given him a command and seen if he could disobey it. What if, somehow, Scott had done something to trick her? Like, for instance, convinced himself he was an Alpha? Convinced himself he was him?

But if he was Scott, then what happened to Scott's original personality? Even if it weren't exactly true, remaining the way he was would feel like stealing Scott's life from him, his parents, and his friends.

He had to get Scott back.

If that meant going to see himself for help, then as much as it pained him, he'd do it in a heartbeat.

"Come on" he growled to his- Derek's Betas. "Let's go see your Alpha."

As Scott charged ahead, Erica and Boyd lagged behind. They could see a difference in Scott and they didn't know if they could trust him anymore.

"So" Boyd called up to Scott's retreating back, "Are you OK now?"

"No."

"Oh… That's all right, I guess." None of them were really OK, but didn't he and Erica, the two who had actualy been torture and held captive for a week, have more of a right to be not OK? This was supposed to be their time to be broody and sullen.

In a few minutes, they arrived at the dilapidated remains of Hale manor, just in time to see Derek and Isaac about to go on the search for them.

"Well, that was the most convenient thing that has ever happened to in my entire life." Derek muttered as he ushered Boyd and Erica into his house.

Erica, still a little frazzled, blurted out, "Scott thinks he's you."

After hearing this, Derek looked at Scott, who could only offer a shrug and a small smirk in response.

"Now that sounds more like my life."

* * *

They gathered around the table to discuss what they were going to do with a Scott who thought he was Derek. Peter wanted to just leave things as they were, because it was more fun that way.

"Scott's baring his teeth at me." He said after finishing that thought. "I fear for I may die of fright." He didn't sound very frightened. "Derek, protect me."

Scott and Derek both answered, "Not on your life." Surprised, the Alpha joined Isaac, who'd been staring for a while now, in the ever popular sport of staring at Scott. Erica and Boyd had been sent to get Stiles, since Derek figured he might be able to bring Scott back to his senses.

"What the hell are you looking at?" Scott snapped.

Derek allowed himself a small grimace, "So this is what I sound like to other people."

"All day. Every day."

"Shut up, Peter."

* * *

Stiles had homework. He had finals and other things to do that did not involve werewolves, and he was most certainly not angsting over his best friend. Nope. Not even a little.

Oh, and when Erica and Boyd climbed into his room through his window, he most certainly did not scream like a little girl. That would have been unmanly and very much not like him.

"Did you know he screams like a girl?" Erice asked Boyd once they were inside.

Gruffly, he replied, "Yes."

Stiles looked mildly affronted. "I do not, and glad to see you two aren't hanging by your hands being electrocuted-"

"No thanks to you."

"-but why are you in my room?"

There are two options one has when confronted by two angry werewolves in a very small room.

Option #1: Quickly, grab the nearest jar of mountain ash and spread around yourself.

Option #2: Become a badass hunter who can fight for some damn privacy.

Neither of those options were available to Stiles, so he simply relented and asked them what they'd come for.

"We need your help." Boyd said.

"No," Erica coldly corrected, "Scott needs his help, we don't."

"Scott saved us-"

"Wait, Scott needs my help?"Of course he did, Stiles thought. It wasn't like a super powered werewolf could go one day without needing someone to save him. "Fine, I get it. Tell where he is."

They told him he was at Derek's.

"WHAT? W-w-why?"

Because where else were they going to put him? Duh.

* * *

_Olive was eleven when her father told her the Hale boy wasn't coming to play with her anymore. She was twelve when she ran away from home._

_"Derek" she'd begged once she'd reached his window. "I'm running away. Come with me."_

_To this day, she remembered what he'd said, "Who are you?"_

* * *

_A few weeks ago, she was going to the dojo the way she always did when she overheard Jake arguing with her father._

_"You can't just reassign my pack" Jake had shouted. "They are loyal to me. They need me to take care of them."_

_The sound of a smack had echoed in her ears, followed by a low growl._

_Her father's voice said, "Don't you dare growl at me, boy. You are my daughter's fiancé, not some random pup I can spare. Your job, your purpose in life, is to protect my daughter, not to train Betas. Do you understand?" The whimper of submission. Reluctant. Low. "Speak, boy!"_

_"Yes, Sir. I understand, clearly."_

_Seemingly satisfied, her father said, "Good." Sensing the meeting was over, Olivia scrambled to position herself as far away from the door as possible when her father came out. He turned to face her, "Training again, Olivia?"_

_"Yes, Father." He nodded his approval and left._

_Inside, she could still see Jake clenching his fist, shaking, and she could understand. Losing one member of a pack was like losing family. Losing them all was the same as being alone._


End file.
